Chapter 111

-“Shaaa!!!”

“Gwaaaak!!!”

The White Beast lunged like a flash, sinking its teeth into the nape of a soldier.

Zebby.

Watching the Empire Army soldier collapse to the ground with a horrific scream, Ambasha licked her lips, feeling a slight twinge of regret.

“Tsk… I guess I don’t really have anything to do now…”

On a forest path at the edge of Arden Forest, amidst a hint of silence, Ambasha was blocking the way with Zebby.

Their mission was to deal with the fleeing remnants of the Empire Army.

However, before Ambasha could even make a move as a Grade 5 Intermediate Warrior, the Empire soldiers had already become Zebby’s meal, taken out from the trees above.

Already, there were at least 40 of them sprawled on the ground, bleeding from their necks.

It was a gruesome scene of slaughter, yet Ambasha merely sighed, expressing her disappointment without a single flinch.

And…

Observing this, Auriel, who was also tasked with the blocking mission and protecting Ambasha, couldn’t help but feel a strange emotion.

‘Is this what one would expect from the captain’s daughter?… Or am I just not adapting well?…’

This girl, who wasn’t even an adult yet, showed no concern while watching people die—rather, she seemed slightly let down that she wasn’t the one doing the killing herself.

Though this was abnormal in many ways, considering she was a pirate whose profession was slaughter, it felt almost normal instead.

With a lingering sense of discomfort, Auriel’s gaze shifted to two figures standing nearby, brandishing blood-soaked axes.

‘Well… If you look at it that way, those two might actually be better than me…’

With cold expressions, they severed the necks of Empire soldiers.

Cheshire and Schrödinger.

They looked down at the twitching bodies that slowly ceased to move, speaking in hushed tones.

“For Auriel’s sake…”

“Mother… for Auriel’s sake…”

“…Umm…”

Their words took on a bizarrely ominous prayer-like quality.

Hearing this, Auriel let out a small sigh.

“No, I mean… please don’t call my name while killing people…”

*

“Gwaak!”

“Khuhuk!”

Screams echoed from all around, and the sight was obscured by flames and smoke.

Amidst it all, a group of isolated Holy Empire soldiers were gripped by sheer terror.

“Cough!”

“!! O… Oatmeal!”

A scream rang out from beside them.

However, when they turned their heads, there was no one there.

Only the sight of a comrade collapsing, spraying blood from his neck…

“Damn it! Where are you? Come out!!”

The enemy was nowhere to be seen.

But…

Despite being invisible, something was undeniably present beside them.

Death.

Something was stealing their lives in the blink of an eye.

And…

“Gwaek!!”

“U…uugh!”

With another chilling presence, the last remaining comrade fell.

Alone, the Empire soldier trembled, his voice trembling with fear.

“I… I’ll find you! You can’t stay hidden forever!”

He swung his gun wildly into the air.

It was a futile gesture, as it connected with nothing, yet at that moment, he had no other choice.

Then…

“Now one.”

“!”

A chilling voice came from right beside him.

Unconsciously, he turned his head slowly in that direction.

“Gah!”

“Fufu…”

A small laugh escaped the lips of the figure before him.

The moment he saw the one with black hair, the soldier trembled and spoke with a quaking voice.

“You… boy…?”

“Hey, you little shit!”

Wham!

In an instant, with a twisted face, the figure stabbed his sword right into the soldier’s head.

Given his small stature and the lack of any visible curves, it was easy to misconceive…

But that was their problem.

Hearing this, Elkana felt a genuine surge of anger and ended that soldier’s life.

At that moment…

“Is it over?”

“… Hah. Yeah, it is.”

Hearing the voice of Magellan in his ear, Elkana shook off the blood from his dagger and let out a deep sigh.

“What’s up with this guy? His head is smashed all alone. What happened?”

“Nothing… It’s fine.”

“Really? Then…”

With a smile that gave off a slightly disturbing vibe, Elkana continued speaking.

There was certainly something strange about this, but the air suggested that if he pried too deep, he might just get hit, so Magellan decided to keep his mouth shut for now.

“By the way, it seems you’ve been pretty active too. Looks like there wasn’t anything too impressive over there?”

“The strongest was Grade 4. But then again, the true aggro is being drawn by the Frantz Army and our captain anyway.”

The sounds of explosions and screams echoed from the distance.

Even through the smoke, they could sense that the ruckus was likely out of control over there as well, so the two began to move again.

Since arriving in the Kingdom of Frantz, they had mostly just been doing the cooking.

Even in the assault on Bastion Prison, they had mostly played backup, feeling quite starved for a real battle.

Thus, as they quenched their thirst for battle, the two unleashed their prowess as Grade 9 and Grade 7 warriors.

*

Overwhelming power.

This situation could only be explained in such terms.

One of the commanding generals of the Holy Empire, General Murriol’s subordinate—Beneto.

Just moments ago, he had been in a state of utter calm, but now he was engulfed by the sensation of being frozen.

The beginning came far too suddenly.

A presence appearing right in the midst of the Holy Empire soldiers.

Descending from the sky, it swiftly turned General Murriol into a bloody mess in a flashy display.

This brought chilling fear to the hearts of the Empire soldiers, including Beneto.

However, in that moment, Beneto realized the truth.

The general’s death…

Was merely the beginning.

The Empire soldiers, gripped by bewilderment, faced that individual who radiated a golden magical power, shining like the sun through the darkness.

In an unthinkable warzone, he spoke in an eerily calm voice.

“Throw down your weapons and I’ll spare your lives; resist, and you shall die. What will you do?”

“…”

“Cough…”

Those words were laden with warning.

In that instant, the soldiers of the Empire found themselves overwhelmed with inner conflict.

But…

“Ha… Don’t spew nonsense!”

“We are proud soldiers of the Empire! We will never bow to the filthy dogs of Frantz!”

With those declarations from Beneto and several other commanding officers, the Empire soldiers rose again.

In a moment, panic had washed over them, though their determination remained strong.

Even though they recognized the strength before them, it was just one individual.

On the other hand, they were in the heart of the Empire’s ranks, surrounded by thousands. Surely, they could overpower him.

Then…

“Is that so? Then we can’t avoid it…”

As the Empire soldiers reacted, the man’s golden magical power surged even more intensely.

And then…

-BAM!

“Ugh!”

The man stomped down, brimming with golden magical power.

Simultaneously, a wave of irresistible power crashed down, causing Beneto to lose his balance and fall to the ground.

It wasn’t just Beneto.

Every Empire soldier within a 100m radius was sent sprawling to the ground.

Armory and tents overturned as if a mighty earthquake had ravaged the area, and Beneto was engulfed in deep bewilderment.

“Cough…”

“What… what’s happening?”

Amidst the confusion of the Empire soldiers, Beneto desperately tried to get back up…

But just then,

The man slowly prepared to swing his fist toward the fallen soldiers.

A menacing aura of golden magical power.

This was a genuine sense of murderous intent, unlike before, and only then did the soldiers truly realize that something was going horribly wrong.

And…

“Die.”

‘!! W-what?!’

-KABOOM!!!

With a swing of the fist, an overwhelming shockwave surged forth.

A powerful strike, like a storm, just barely grazed past Beneto.

At the same time, an unnerving sense of dread washed over him.

It felt like ice picks were stabbing down his spine as that chilling terror coursed through his entire body.

And there, rigid with fear, he beheld…

What appeared to be a perfect wasteland, as if a dragon had just torn through the Empire’s base, annihilating the soldiers in an instant.

In one blow, dozens… No, perhaps hundreds of his subordinates had been slaughtered.

As Beneto witnessed this, he was forced to confront a reality too late.

The one standing right in front of him…

Was someone he should have knelt before on their very first meeting—an absolute monster.

“W-wait… I—”

Beneto attempted to declare his surrender, but unfortunately…

It was far too late.